Sophia Lewis, Author at Hounia

Want to Feel Bad? Ask TikTok How Old You Look.

27

Feb

Science and Technology

Want to Feel Bad? Ask TikTok How Old You Look.

Cherri Gervais got her first gray hairs as a teenager.“It’s genetic,” she said.Her hair color, a striking shade of silver, is the first thing people on TikTok noticed when she asked them to tell her how old she looked in a recent video.The guesses ranged wildly. Many were correct, or close enough, Ms. Gervais said. (She turned 34 this month.) Other suggested she was in her 60s or 70s.Ms. Gervais, who lives in Kansas and works for a part-time beauty company, said she had decided to post her video after coming upon similar TikToks.“I saw someone Gen Z do it…

An Emboldened F.T.C. Bolsters Biden’s Efforts to Address Inflation

27

Feb

By Sophia Lewis

Investments and Business

An Emboldened F.T.C. Bolsters Biden’s Efforts to Address Inflation

An independent federal agency has become one of the most reliable executors of President Biden’s attempts to fight inflation, at a time when the White House has few weapons of its own to quickly bring down stubbornly high prices of consumer staples like groceries.The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit on Monday, joined by several state attorneys general, to challenge a merger between the supermarket giants Kroger and Albertsons. The agency’s rationale in many ways echoed Mr. Biden’s renewed attempts to blame corporate greed for rising prices and shrinking portions in grocery aisles.“If allowed, this merger would substantially lessen competition,…

27

Feb

By Sophia Lewis

International

Middle East Crisis: Israel Signals a Willingness to Free High-Profile Palestinian Prisoners, Officials Say

President Biden said on Monday that he believed negotiators were nearing an agreement that would halt Israel’s military operations in Gaza within a week in exchange for the release of at least some of the more than 100 hostages being held by Hamas.Speaking with reporters during a stop in New York, Mr. Biden offered the most hopeful assessment of the hostage talks by any major figure in many days, suggesting that the war might be close to a major turning point.“I hope by the end of the weekend,” he said when asked by reporters when he expected a cease-fire to…

UnitedHealth Cyberattack Disrupts Prescription Drug Coverage

27

Feb

By Sophia Lewis

International

UnitedHealth Cyberattack Disrupts Prescription Drug Coverage

A cyberattack on a unit affiliated with UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest insurer, has disrupted drug prescription orders at thousands of pharmacies for nearly a week.The assault on the unit, Change Healthcare, a division of United’s Optum, was discovered last Wednesday. The attack appeared to be by a foreign country, according to two senior federal law enforcement officials, who expressed alarm at the extent of the disruption on Monday.UnitedHealth Group, the conglomerate, said in a federal filing that it had been forced to disconnect some of Change Healthcare’s vast digital network from its clients, and as of Monday, had not been…

Eli Manning’s popular ‘Chad Powers’ skit to be made into Hulu comedy series starring Glen Powell

26

Feb

By Sophia Lewis

International

Eli Manning’s popular ‘Chad Powers’ skit to be made into Hulu comedy series starring Glen Powell

The name’s Powers. Chad Powers. And he’s coming (back) to a screen near you.Hulu ordered Eli Manning’s character “Chad Powers” to be made into its own comedy series, according to a company press release. Manning created and transformed into Powers for an episode of his docuseries “Eli’s Places” after Manning’s curiosity about the college football walk-on process led him to try out at Penn State under the pseudonym and disguise. With help from a special effects artist and Matthew McConaughey-like persona, Manning successfully tried out to be a Nittany Lion. He almost made it too, as Penn State assistants took…

26

Feb

By Sophia Lewis

Science and Technology

Can a Tech Giant Be Woke?

The December day in 2021 that set off a revolution across the videogame industry appeared to start innocuously enough. Managers at a Wisconsin studio called Raven began meeting one by one with quality assurance testers, who vet video games for bugs, to announce that the company was overhauling their department. Going forward, managers said, the lucky testers would be permanent employees, not temps. They would earn an extra $1.50 an hour.It was only later in the morning, a Friday, that the catch became apparent: One-third of the studio’s roughly 35 testers were being let go as part of the overhaul.…